Black and white

Before the arrival of photography – with the exception of some etchings and lithographs – all the images we consumed were in colour. Quite simply, because no one would ever have thought to do anything else – why paint in black and white when colour was so readily available?

Yet despite this, today many photographers still choose to work in black and white – such as Pauline Théon, Kadir Von Lohuizen or Joh Lowenstein – even though their photos are taken in colour by the camera itself. Is the black and white trend a fleeting effect of fashion, or a symbolic return to the roots of the photography movement? Black and white photography has something that colour photos, despite recent innovations and the extraordinary quality of images today, cannot quite access. The use of black and white lends significant force to the composition: the contrasts, the shadows and the figures all stand out more strongly. People simply feel differently when faced with a colour photo versus a black and white image.

Colour is a distraction of sorts, a disturbance: colour is a nuisance.

And yet, some photographers still prefer colour to black and white, whilst others merge touches of colour with otherwise monochrome compositions. But in the end, all agree that both styles impose a totally different way of looking at a photo: from researching the shot to post production work, when artists develop or retouch the image. The use of colour is therefore something of a process in its own right, relating to two different ways of viewing the world and showing it others. The question, then, is what is being told, and why is it being in the way that it is?

The symbolic value of putting black and white together is a good starting point for reflecting on the fascination that they generate even today. There could not be a more fascinating, more striking ambivalence than when black, the 'colour' of darkness and burnt coal, considered a non-colour, is placed alongside white – representing light, and the result of all the colours merged together.

The problem faced by photographers today is that black and white still carry strong connotations of the past, of an era before the popularisation of colour and its massive cultural recovery amongst the press and photo journalists. In fact, it is rare now that contemporary subjects are photographed in colour, but we still associate black and white images with a retro feel.

So what does contemporary art have to say about it all? Discover Artsper's selection of black and white works: on the border of past and present, of the real and the imaginary… let us guide you!

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Black and white

Silhouette IX

Glimpse

Luna de Portugal, de la série Recetario

Dassault flamant triptyque

Eiger

This is so Illegal

Morning

Hostinato Noir

Michel

Magnum Photos 75 - Édition limitée

Série 'Terres brûlées II'

Le signal codé (Our cipher)

Mother and child

Feelings

Love is a river

In Pursuit of Northern Light

Black sand beach 3

Elliptic, recherche n°7

Keanu Reeves Signed Limited Edition Photograph

Tom Jobim

Untitled (Temple)

Série pêche, Manakara

Baïkal 11

Gainsbourg Chez Castel

Belongings 1

The music inside

0616-02

Out of Shadows - New York City

Couple Embrace

Untitled

Untitled (chin)

Mind the cloud

Sans titre

Layer of Amazon

Sans titre

Por derecha. José Tomas, CDMX.

Mirella Petteni, Oslo

Wicked Game | Ponza, Italy

Œdipe I

Jim Morrison

Amanda Lear - Salvator !

Voir les yeux fermés - sans titre #19

Hearts

Sans titre 1

La jeune fille de la gare de Desenzano

Amen !

Skeme and Lava - N.Y.C Legends

Sans titre

Dance Moods - Lacina Coulibaly

Seb, Unconventional

Paul Mc Cartney of The Beatles at George V Hotel

Lazy man with dog

De Myrha à Babylone - Série poussette crèche 2

Dans les rues de Biot

No title (No42)

After the flood

Sans titre

168.05.12

J'accuse

Translacìon 360° II

Ocean (dialog)

Abandon

Raspberry Jam 2

Framing

Room 2 - 12 Prints Collector Portfolio # 5 - Fine Art Photography

Nudo con giglio